Greece’s Path to EEC membership, 1947- 1979: the view from Brussels

Abstract

Greece's accession to the EEC represents a fascinating case-study of the history of
enlargement, of European integration and finally of the Cold War in the late 1970s.This
thesis is the first detailed archivally-based study of the second enlargement. It is based on
an extensive multi-archival and multinational research, including records of the Greek,
American, British, French and German governments, of the EEC institutions
(Commission, Council of Ministers) and a collection of personal papers.
The conventional account of the second enlargement focuses solely on Greece and its
policy towards the EEC. In contrast, this thesis casts new light on the way in which the
Nine as a whole responded to the challenges posed by the Greek accession. Through this
Community-based approach, this thesis challenges traditional views of the reasons that
led Greece to apply for EEC membership, the rationale behind the Nine's acceptance of
the Greek application, and generally casts new light on the way in which the Nine
thought and finally acted regarding Greece's membership during the actual accession
negotiations. Looking at these actors can tear down common misconceptions or, indeed,
confirm existing beliefs about the communautaire behaviour of the Nine in the second
enlargement. It also allows new conclusions to be drawn about the internal development
of the Community in the 1970s, especially in relation to the perennial dilemma of
widening versus deepening, while highlighting important aspects of the mechanics of the
enlargement process. Last but not least, this thesis aims to place the details of the Greek
negotiations within the context of regional and international considerations dominated
by the realities of the Cold War, thus underlining the linkage between the two parallel
developments of European integration and the Cold War.
This thesis provides a detailed analysis of a vital chapter not only in post-war Greek
history but, most importantly, in the process of European integration and Cold War in
the 1970s.